Shiawase
by Cooliceprincess
Summary: For some, happiness is plain hard to attain. Multiple OC x CC and some CC x CC (no yaoi or incest)
1. Recruitment Day

**Chapter 1**

_**Recruitment Day**_

"Taicho!" Matsumoto burst into the office.

"Matsumoto, there's no need of using shunpo to get through the door." Hitsugaya replied with a hint of annoyance. Matsumoto muttered an apologize sheepishly before switching back into her energetic self.

"Can you believe it?! One of the new recruits actually managed to force me to use shikai! Isn't it incredible? And she's short like you too!" Matsumoto quickly realize her mistake and slowly took a step back as the air slowly get colder. She shouldn't mention her Taicho's height.

Hitsugaya glared at her intensely, but he sighed and dropped it. He took a deep breath and regain his composure before facing Matsumoto again.

"Is it Fuyuhime Kazuha?" he asked. Matsumoto seems surprised.

"Why, yes! How do you know, Taicho?"

"I read her records yesterday. It clearly stated she graduated in two years. It's nothing to be surprised about." He said with a slightly exasperated tone. 'And I met her once before,' Hitsugaya added inwardly. Matsumoto grinned.

"Ne, Taicho...she's close in attaining her shikai. I would like to help her, but she's so cold! You should see her! Her aura's colder than yours!"

"Matsumoto, get back to work!" Hitsugaya snapped. He's stressed enough without his fukutaicho bugging him about the coldness of his new subordinate. But he can't help but be curious...

"Matsumoto, what seat did you gave her?"

"19th!" Matsumoto answered cheerfully.

"Hmm." Hitsugaya signed the 900th sheet of document on his table and gave the small remaining left to Matsumoto.

"Finish it," He stated in a deadpanned tone, "I'm taking a nap."

Matsumoto pouted. But Hitsugaya is used to it by now. It has no affect. Matsumoto slumped her shoulder before obediently signing the remaining paper. Though it's only a small amount of the total number, it's still over 200 sheets. She just started writing on the first sheet when...

KABOOOM! ZAP!

* * *

><p>Yamada Kyouko is B-O-R-E-D. Very bored. Every recruitment day, Kyouko always found nothing to do but laze around. She almost wished she could change the name into 'Mass Day Off for Seats Bellow 3rd' from the lack of job existing that day every year. Not that she hated having days off, but for an active person like her, not doing anything is hell. Not to mention today's extremely hot.<p>

Under a tree shade in the 4th division, the red head lied down, watching small rays of light that passed the net of green above her. Her red eyes started to droop as drowsiness reach her.

"Don't you have anything better to do, Kyouko?"

Kyouko opened one of her eyes, watching the dark silhouette that looms over her. All she could see is a head full of spiky hair. That's enough for her to identify the person.

"Yo, Hisagi. Finished early?" She smirked at her friend. Hisagi shrugged and seated himself next to her.

"Sort of." Was his short reply. "I see you still can't find an activity to do each recruitment day."

"Yeah." The 4th seat of 4th division growled as she sat upright. "No paperwork, no patient, no one to torture, and of course, most of my friends prefer watching the new recruits being tested."

"No one to torture..." Hisagi repeated with a sweat drop.

"Yeah, so what?"

"Nothing." Hisagi shook his head. His friend never changed. She's still very outspoken, cranky, rude, and annoyingly strong. For a 4th division's member, Kyouko is extremely violent. Hisagi often doubted her ability to heal. But despite that, it seems that Kyouko is splendid at kidou and kaido arts. Even better than him, he thought in dismay. Oh, well. At least she's still a few seats bellow him, though he's sure she can be a fukutaicho if she wanted to.

"By the way, you finished early, right? Why don't we go to that new dango shop? I heard it's good." Oh, one more thing. Kyouko loved eating traditional sweets. He's surprised she could stay slim all these years.

"That's not bad. I have nothing to do anyway. But I want to see how Kira's doing. Maybe Rangiku-san too." Hisagi added with a slight blush.

"Perv," Kyouko commented, but she doesn't seem particularly angry. "We can eat dango **while** watching. Deal?"

"Deal."

They just went down the street when they heard the explosion.

KABOOM! ZAP!

They stared at each other in puzzlement.

"What the hell was that?" Kyouko raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know. It came from the 5th division."

"Should we check it out?"

"...Okay."

And off they go.

* * *

><p>Hinamori Momo is shocked. How could she not be, when a foreign projectile suddenly exploded less than two meters in front of her? Her body remained shell-shocked for a few moments before she finally gathered enough courage to give it a look. And when she did look, she's even more shocked than before. But this time, she doesn't have time to remain idle.<p>

"Somebody! Come here and help!" She yelled while she pulled the body from the crater.

Several officers came and assisted her, sending the body to the 4th division.

"What is the matter, Hinamori-kun?" Aizen entered the courtyard with a slight puzzled look on his face.

"Aizen taicho...I'm not quite sure either. There was an explosion, and I found someone injured in the crater." Hinamori explained.

"I see. For now, let's just wait for the 12th division to investigate it. Come, Hinamori-kun. We have to report this."

"Yes!"

* * *

><p>"Wow..." Kyouko commented after hearing Hinamori's story. "That's cool! Why is it that fun things never happen to me?!"<p>

...So she thinks this is fun. Hisagi and Hinamori sweat dropped.

"Kyouko-san, there's nothing fun about what happened..." Hinamori started.

"Of course it's fun! Every damn recruitment day, I'm stuck doing nothing! This sort of thing is entertaining!" Kyouko interrupted her.

"Forget it, Hinamori-san. Her tastes are odd to begin with, so don't mind her." Hisagi patted the younger shinigami's shoulder.

"Who says my tastes are odd?!"

"Who knows."

"Don't play dumb with me, Hisagi!" Kyouko swing her fist to him. Hisagi countered her fist and send a swipe to her legs.

"Ooh~Hisagi fights back. That's a first in a long time~" Kyouko grinned while somersaulting out of the way. "It's been...say, 100 years since last time you actually counter attack?"

"90." Hisagi revised.

"Pfft. Whatever."

"Uh, please don't fight." Hinamori sweat dropped. Her words are pathetically ignored. Well, Hinamori is pretty much used with Hisagi and Kyouko's fight. While still attending to Shinou Academy, they fight on daily basis. Even Hinamori, who was still a first year student at the time, knew about her upperclassmen's rivalry. Hinamori once heard a rumor that Hisagi and Kyouko knew each other for a very long time, even before they started attending the shinigami academy. She wondered, if it's the case, did they fight everyday back then too?

Most likely, yes.

Because now, they're guaranteed to fight each time they got the chance to.

"Dear Kami, would you guys quit it for once!"

A tall woman smashed the fighting pair's heads together, almost knocking both out cold. While the two are busy tending to their sore foreheads, said woman stood with arms akimbo and a cold glare.

Kaito Jun, 5th seat of the 4th division. Tall, tomboyish, and stern. Her bluish black hair is spiky and short, with the exception of the hair at her nape that grows past her waist. Her eye color matched her hair perfectly. With a distinctive sharp and narrow eye shape, stern face, and overall firm personality, she would've been easily mistaken as a man if only she's flat-chested, which she is not. If Hinamori remembers correctly, Jun used to be Kyouko's senior and unofficial mentor. But now Kyouko rose to a seat directly above her, and they become best friends instead (with a slight shudder, Hinamori recalled that the two are called the red-blue devil duo of the 4th).

"Jun, you're ruining the moment." Kyouko whined.

"Oh, sorry. I don't know you're having a romantic moment with your boyfriend." Jun deadpanned. She didn't look sorry, neither did she **sound** sorry.

"He's not my boyfriend! And I never said it's a romantic moment!" Kyouko's cheeks are burning. Either it's because of her anger or embarrassment...Or both.

"Sure, Akage." Was Jun's sarcastic reply.

"By the way, Jun-san, why are you here?" Hisagi asked. Hinamori is impressed that he didn't seem at all affected by Jun's monotone teasing.

"To call Akage here back to the 4th. That person Hinamori found in the crater is in quite a serious state. Unohana-taicho wants the two of us there."

"Why didn't you say so?!" Kyouko shunpo-ed back to her division. "C'mon, Jun!"

"Well, see ya' guys around later." Jun waved slightly and followed her friend.

"That's...sudden. I suppose Kyouko and I can't go eat dango together after all." Hisagi sighed and rubbed the back of his head. He suppose something always happen each time they planned a hang out like this. And it's been quite a while since he saw her, too. He hated to admit it, but after knowing Kyouko for so long, it feels weird not to see her around.

"Huh? Hisagi-san, you're really dating Kyouko-san?" Hinamori widened her eyes in shock. Hisagi went red in an instant.

"That's not it. We just wanna hang out together as **friends**. It's been a while since we get to talk properly after all." Hisagi explained with slight embarrassment. "Jun-san had always assumed we're dating. Don't take it seriously."

"Oh..." Was her only response. She couldn't exactly tell if Hisagi and Kyouko does have a special relationship or not, but she can clearly see their close friendship despite their similarly close rivalry.

Well, whatever the case, Hinamori thinks it'll be for Hisagi and Kyouko to decide and that she shouldn't see to it too deeply.

* * *

><p>Unohana Retsu let out a soft exhale as the surgery ended. It was the worst wound she saw in the past few years. Not to mention the patient is not healthy to begin with. She barely escaped death. Luckily they perform reiatsu transfer as quick as possible.<p>

"Still..." Unohana uttered softly. "Where have I seen that face before?" She glanced at said patient from the corner of her eyes.

When the patient arrived earlier, she is only clad in clothes that are too small and her body is almost entirely covered with dirt, cuts, and bruises...and needle marks. They could only clean her up a little before starting emergency surgery.

"Kyouko," Unohana said. "Please bathe the patient and give her new clothes."

"Yes, ma'am!" The red-haired 4th seat dashed to prepare the neccessary items, her long high ponytail fluttered along behind her like an overgrown tail.

"Jun, help her." Unohana turned to her 5th seat. The quiet taller woman nodded curtly, yawned, and followed her friend's footsteps in a much slower pace.

Now, back to the main matter. The patient is familiar looking. Unohana swore she saw her face sometime in the past. As the 4th division's captain make her way to her office, she continued to ponder. In her long life, Unohana didn't have time to remember every single person she met, that's why, she deducted, for her to remember the face, it means she knew the person quite well.

Her rhythmic footsteps momentarily stops as she arrived in front of her office. She slide the door open gently, and close it just as gentle. She glanced at her table, spotting her favorite teacup. She gingerly held the cup, tracing the curves along the ceramic masterpiece. A small smile reached her lips.

Well, she supposed a cup of tea would help her remember.

* * *

><p>I'll make the next chapter longer ^_^<p>

*Akage : redhead

~To Be Continued~


	2. The Lost Princess 1

**Chapter 2**

_**The Lost Princess**_

"Pleaaase Kaeri-san! Just for a day!" Kotetsu Kiyone begged.

"No. It'll definitely rip if I lend it to you." Answered the fukutaicho of the 13th division, Soyokaze Kaeri. She is a woman of average height, with curvious body and a hobby to collect scarfs. The odd light green for her hair color is often ignored thanks to her beauty. With small lips, large blue eyes, and a sweet smile, she is the definition of pretty.

Just now you readers are watching Kiyone's futile attempt to borrow one of Kaeri's precious scarfs. Kaeri's semi-obsession with scarfs caused her to poses a beautiful collection of high-quality scarfs. Those scarfs, although would never be as expensive as Kuchiki Byakuya's, would make any fashion-loving woman squeal in delight. Kotetsu Kiyone is no exception. For once she wanted to look pretty and cute, so she wished to wear one of those scarfs to a hang out party tomorrow night. But of course, for Kaeri to lend her scarf to anyone would be almost as impossible as seeing an upside down rainbow.

"Aww..." Kiyone whined. "Come on...I promise I won't broke it! I'll even wash it for you afterwards!"

"No."

Right at that moment, Ukitake entered the room. With puzzlement he glanced at his comically crying third seat and the aloof fukutaicho who is holding the scarf on her neck protectively.

"Did something happen?" He asked.

"Not really, Taicho. You should just rest easy. Everything is fine!" Kaeri ushered her superior out of their office (more like her office, since Ukitake is rarely present).

Kiyone finally gave up on her idea and politely excused herself, meeting Sentarou outside, who smugly claimed that he already guessed the outcome. Kiyone snapped at her fellow 3rd seat, leading another argument between the two. Kaeru sighed in relief once her subordinates left. The office is never peaceful when those two are around. Once the made a mass wreckage in there. Kaeru almost believed a hurricane had passed by.

"Well," She glanced around the office. "I finished cleaning up earlier. I suppose I'll go for a walk."

She's only a few steps out of said office when she bumped into a hard surface. Rubbing her nose that absorbed most of the impact, she wondered if someone builded a wall in the middle of the hallway. With eyes still slightly teary in pain, she opened them to glare at the obstacle. The obstacle turned out to be tall, having tribal tattoes at his eyebrow, and his head resembled a red pineaple.

"Oh, it's just you, Pineaple-head." Kaeri glared.

"What?! That's your new way of greeting?!" Abarai Renji glared back with a slightly offended look.

"I never greeted any man except Ukitake-taicho with respect." Kaeri pushed him aside and ignored him.

"Wha-?!" Renji frowned. So far, he didn't think he ever did anything wrong to Kaeri. Well, except that time when they spoke to each other for the first time, where he accidentally blurted his thought aloud about her odd hair color. He apologized numerous times after that, but she seemed like she decided to hate him. He rubbed his head silently. Older woman, he deducted, is harder to figure out. As proof, Rukia, the woman he deals with the most, was never that complicated.

"Oh well," Renji muttered. "It's not like I'm here to see her."

...Why did he went here? He's pretty sure it's not to see Rukia. He scratched his head. Great. He had just discovered that he's senile already. And he's not even that old yet.

* * *

><p>Unohana widened her eyes. One hand clutched her teacup, and the other held an old picture that she thought was long gone. Picture of two children, twins, who both had wide smiles, short messy white hair that portrudes at the sides, and large cat-like eyes. The 4th's captain focused on the child at the right, who has a pair of gold eyes that contrasted her twin's pinkish purple ones.<p>

"That's it," Unohana mumbled.

Unohana set her teacup down and set out to the patient's room. Kyouko and Jun had done a great job bathing her. Her skin, albeit still covered in bandages, showed its original pale cream color. Previously, her hair color is unidentified thanks to the amount of dirt sticking to it. Now, it shined white with a hint of purple at the tips. Her face, that held less injury than her body, is nothing if not aristocratic. Lovely bent eyebrows, slender nose that is neither too pointed or flat, high cheekbones, and pointed chin. If she's not so thin and malnourished, she would've been a lovely lady.

Unohana matched the photo she held with the patient's face.

Perfect. She's practically the adult version of the child in the photo. All Unohana needs to confirm, is her eye color. Even though Unohana kept in mind the fact that it is a little rude, she opened the patient's eyes with her fingers. She found two shining gold orbs.

Unohana sighed. Her assumptions are not wrong. With the blood sample she attained, Unohana could easily run a DNA test to further convince herself about the patient's identity, but she doubted it'll be necessary when the resemblance is that much. She'll run it anyway, since Soutaicho would want her to give him solid proof at her report to him. But first...

Unohana went to the Jigokucho's breeding place, fetching the nearest butterfly and whispered a sentence to it. As the black swallow-tailed butterfly flew to find the destinated person, Unohana wondered if she should give **that person** so much hope when there's still a small possibility that she made a mistake.

* * *

><p>Even though it's been quite a long time, Toushiro found no trouble at spotting this year's genius graduate, Fuyuhime Kazuha, between the crowd of new recruits. While her hair is black like most people, her pale skin practically shined in midst of black and tan. That, and her startling deep blue eyes, despite it's wistfulness, still pierced deep into his like a spike of ice. It's probably thanks to that piercing gaze of hers that Toushiro still remembered his brief encounter with her.<p>

She's not much different than the last time (or should he said, first time) they met. Her long midnight black hair is now put into a slightly messy bun instead of a long pigtail. The bottom part of her face is covered with a mask that is connected to the skin-tight black shirt that she wore under her shihakusho, unlike the simple medical mask that she wore during her academy times. She hasn't gained weight nor height, as her body remained petite and short just as she was.

As usual, he gave a short speech to the new recruits, congratulating them for graduating and so on, and then let his fukutaicho took over the tour around the division. But this time, he's interested enough to stay around and watch potential amateurs.

"Taicho,"

Toushiro glanced to the side, where his 4th seat, Hitsuhiro Sho stood. Even now, Sho's surname really irks him. It's like the combination of his own name, Hitsugaya Toushiro. For that reason, Sho is the only person Toushiro addressed by his first name in daily basis, an honor that is not even bestowed to the captain's childhood friend Hinamori Momo. Honestly Hitsugaya couldn't imagine calling Sho by any name but his first name. In return, when the two of them are talking privately, Toushiro allowed the 4th seat to call his first name (and sometimes his old nickname, 'Shiro-chan', albeit reluctantly). Why he's so tolerant towards the older shinigami, that's a story for another time.

Sho's name isn't the only similar point they shared. His characteristics are also annoyingly alike. He has the same eye shape and color, the same spiky unruly hair, the same thin appearance, the same strong jawline, and the same favorite fruit, watermelon. The things that ruined the image were his hair color, that is brown, his seemingly unable-to-frown eyebrow, his happy personality, and, the most annoying of all, his height (Sho is not a particularly tall man, but he is not short either).

"What now, Sho?" Toushiro breathed a sigh. The 4th seat grinned stupidly.

"It's rare for you to watch the tour. Anyone caught your eye?" He said a bit teasingly.

"Sort of." Hitsugaya glanced at the shortest female in the group.

"A girl?" Sho blinked in disbelief. "Toushiro, you actually set your eyes on a girl?!"

"Lower your voice." Toushiro hissed. "But, yes. She has high potentials."

"Or, you just like her." Ugh, here comes Sho's annoying assumptions.

"I do not." The young captain sighed again softly, then he started to walk back into his office. If his hunch is correct, Matsumoto must've ditched her paperwork and hide it somewhere. As he walked away, he felt Sho's gaze upon his back. He could almost hear what Sho's thinking as clear as day, as if the 4th seat had yelled it out loud, 'Since you think she has potential, Toushiro, go train her.'

He'll consider that idea some other time. For now, he had to make sure his workload didn't double, again.

* * *

><p>"<em>Why didn't I sense them coming?!" Hisagi parried a dangerous attack, steadily pressured by the numerous hollows.<em>

"_You weren't the only one not sensing them! I didn't either! And I was better at sensing than you!" Kyouko gritted her teeth. She jumped backwards to gain some space and started chanting kidou enchantments under her breath._

"_Kyouko! Behind you!" The shout broke her concentration and the steadily growing red orb of shakkaho in her hands dispelled. But Kyouko didn't have time to complain. She narrowly dodged a set of sharp claws. A pained gasp reached her ears and she turned to her rival and partner._

"_Hisagi!" He didn't look good. The right side of his face bled so much Kyouko couln't even see the wound. Curses ran through her mind as she pressed her back against Hisagi's. There isn't much she could do for her friend right now aside from guarding his back. "Oi, you okay?"_

"_Mostly." Hisagi replied with dry humor. "I'm not dying anytime soon, if that's what you're asking."_

"_Good. Stay like that. Just a little more...until the backup arrives." Kyouko muttered to him._

"_Yeah..." Hisagi shifted his stance. "Damn, I don't wanna die yet."_

"_You think I want to?" The redhead sneered with no ill intent. "I still have to take care of Hanatarou."_

"_You're really an elder sister to the bone." Hisagi's shoulder relaxed a bit. Kyouko can sense his smirk even when she didn't see it._

"_Of course."_

_The hollows charged at them at the same time. Kyouko knew their combined effort won't stand a chance. If only someone can buy her enough time to cast a kidou spell..._

_Three swords blocked the attack. Three of the first years are blocking the claws. They apologized for ignoring their orders, which is unnecessary considering they saved their lives. The girl, Hinamori, chanted a kidou spell and shot a shakkaho to the nearest hollow. But of course, it didn't work. It's fine, though. They gave her the time she needed to speak a spell._

"_Bakudo no 62, Hyapporankan!" Kyouko yelled. The white rod of energy she threw duplicate itself rapidly as it rained upon the hollows. It does little to no damage, but it distracted the hollows. _

"_Bakudo no 21, Sekienton!" As the smokescreen kidou obscured the hollows' sight, she turned to the first years and Hisagi. "Hurry, run!"_

"_Why didn't you do that earlier?!" Hisagi yelled at her._

"_Shut up! I don't have time for the enchantments! And be quiet unless you want them to hear us!"_

"_You're yelling louder than I do!"_

"_P-please stop arguing..." Hinamori sweat dropped._

"_You would think they're supposed to be serious and experienced, right?" Renji muttered to Kira, who nodded dully with his face still pale after the shock earlier._

_They finally stopped their desperate sprint when Hisagi tripped slightly. Undoubtedly the wound on his eye is bothering his eyesight, not to mention it bled a lot. Kyouko scanned their surroundings with anxiety. They're on a roof, with no shelter whatsoever. That's dangerous. But Hisagi's wound needs tending, and she's the only one with enough kidou level to heal him._

"_Hisagi, c'mere." She gestured him to come closer while still gazing around the area. When she finally turn her eyes upon her friend, he is standing less than two feet from her. She can feel his labored breath faintly blowing her hair. Swiftly she thrusted her palm to his face. Instantly the area under her palm glow green as she surrounds it with kaido. _

_The wound is healing too slowly. Kyouko's sure her kidou skills are far better than that. She suppose she's slightly shaken after all. She stopped after the bleeding stops. That will have to work for a while._

"_Anyone else hurt?" Kyouko glanced at the first years. The trio shook their head no._

_Suddenly her skin prickled uncomfortably. She didn't sense any reiatsu, but she knew: they're here already! And they're aiming for..._

"_Hisagi!" She dashed at her friend in full speed. The next thing she knew, Hisagi is staring at her with wide shocked eyes, his torso covered with blood splashes and droplets. Later, blinding pain overrun her senses and an odd warmth soak her uniform._

"_Kyouko!"_

Kyouko gasped. She jolted so fast that her blanket was instantly thrown to the other side of the room. Slowly her nerves calmed down and her brain is finally able to register her surroundings. Her small room...and the piercing gaze her roommate is giving her.

"Sorry Jun, I woke you up didn't I?" Kyouko run her fingers through her long hair. The red soft strands that usually cascaded to her thigh when she stood, now able to tickle her feet while she's sitting. Kyouko had an attachment to her hair, and even though it is long enough to reach her thigh even while in a high ponytail, she still coulnd't bring herself to cut it. Something Jun thought as ridiculous.

"You didn't. I've been awake for half an hour when you started mumbling and shifting in your bed. And another fifteen minutes passed before you throw your blanket across the room and, well, woke up." Jun shrugged at the discarded blanket.

"Just how early you could get?" Kyouko frowned at the small clock between their futons whose hands pointed 4.30 am. "It's not even sunrise yet."

"I sleep early last night. And you know I have minor insomnia." Jun attempted to tidy her spiky locks, which is not working. She sighed and brushed the only long part of her hair, behind her neck.

"Mmm..." Kyouko dragged herself up to fetch her blanket and threw it to the right place. She sighed and took the glass of water she prepared next to her futon in case she's thisty in the middle of the night.

"By the way, you were calling your boyfriend's name in your sleep. Did you like him that much that he haunt your dreams?"

Kyouko almost spurted the water in her mouth to her friend's face. Something she wished she did when she saw the playful smirk dancing on Jun's lips.

To Be Continued

* * *

><p><strong>I can't decide whether to call Captain Hitsugaya 'Hitsugaya' or 'Toushiro' so I'll be shifting between it frequently. It'll be the same for few other characters.<strong>


	3. The Lost Princess 2

**Chapter 3**

**The Lost Princess 2**

Unohana Retsu stood in front of her division, waiting patiently for something no one could guess. When a faint blur shifted at the corner of her eyes, Unohana reentered her division and started to walk towards her newest patient's room. Halfway towards the location, the blur finally stopped moving and walked on a normal pace directly behind Unohana.

"How was life, Asami?" Unohana gently greeted without gazing backwards.

"The usual. The elders are still bugging me to get a husband, which I don't think I'll have anytime soon. Yuushiro was being a sweetheart and offered to take over as the 24th head. But of course I won't let him take over while he's still so young...he has other fun things he could do to spend his youth rather than taking care of a bunch of old geezers they called 'elders'." Replied the figure with a hint of humor.

Unohana stopped in front of the destinated room, sliding the door open, letting her guest enter, and made sure nobody saw them before finally facing her companion. Who stood before her is the 23rd head of the Shihouin clan, Shihouin Asami. She is a woman of average height, with white hair and a hint of pink at the tips. Her pinkish purple eyes are sharp and cat-like in shape, while at the same time holding grace and gentleness in it. Her skin color is akin to Unohana's own. She wears what seemed like what the captain of the 2nd division usually wears, with an expensive haori covering the supposedly exposed skin on her back.

In short, she is the albino version of her dark-skinned purple-haired elder sister, the one called Shunshin no Yoruichi.

Asami glanced at the problematic patient, whose face more or less identical with her own. Aside from the different tint on their hair, no one would've seen the difference between them.

"She really has gold eyes?" Asami asked the 4th's captain.

"Yes. I have checked them earlier. What I need now is a bit of your DNA to match it with hers."

"Personally, with this much resemblance, I wonder why you still doubted it's Asahina." Asami traced her fingers against the sleeping patient's hair.

"I do not. But Soutaicho would want solid proof." Unohana smiled mirthlessly. Asami sighed. Her ladylike behavior slowly dissipates, revealing a more aloof and casual upbringing, something she inherited from Yoruichi.

"She finally returned...I don't know what to think." Asami massaged the bridge of her nose. "Either glad that she's more or less okay...or angry because someone had definitely done something to her." Asami glanced at the injuries that covered the patient's body.

"Well, this would be the topic of the next captains meeting. There's a chance you and Yuushiro would be summoned. I just hope you'll be ready for it." Unohana stated.

"As if Yuushiro would be of any use. He's not even born yet when Asahina...you know." Asami said rather bitterly.

"True. It's simply because of family ties." Unohana smiled faintly. Asami sighed again.

"Well, I have to go back before anyone suspected I slipped into Seireitei...again." The Tenshiheisoban twitched a smile at the last word as she took a strand of her white-pink hair. She handed the hair to Unohana and disappeared without a trace.

The 4th division captain fingered the silvery strand of hair gingerly. DNA test should be in order right about...now.

* * *

><p>Fuyuhime Kazuha was not sure how exactly she ended up falling on her bottom. She was just walking to her office (well, at least the direction where she presumed her office is located - she has a rather bad sense of direction) when a strong wind knock her to the side. She blinked a few times before picking herself up. What was that? She was sure the weather was not windy when she came out of her quarters. Even if it is, she's not <strong>that<strong> light to be knocked over by wind easily. She was just about to shrug it off and continue on her way when a similar wind passed again, this time from the opposite direction and it didn't knock her.

But then what she thought as natural wind was not natural at all. Someone bumped into her while running in break-neck speed, and that someone is returning with the same amount of velocity (it's not yet as fast as shunpo, but close enough). The person skid into a halt in front of her comically, sighing in relief when he managed to stop himself in time before hitting a nearby wall. His brown hair spiked to the back and honestly it looked like it just got blown with strong wind for a while, probably the result of running around in that speed. And then, there's his teal eyes that is so very similar with Captain Hitsugaya's. Instantly Kazuha knew who she's facing. Hitsuhiro Sho, 4th seat of the 10th division, who is rumored to be a splitting image of the captain. And that rumor was right.

"Hey. Sorry about earlier. I didn't look where I was going." The 4th seat grinned sheepishly.

"..."

Honestly Kazuha didn't know what to think. Sho looked too much like their captain that she had to remind herself every five minutes that she's talking to someone else. But at the same time, he's very different and she couldn't bring herself to take him seriously. It's getting confusing, really.

"Huh...not the talkative type, are you? Well, that's okay I suppose!" He grinned again. Kazuha wondered if his teeth has gone dry with the amount of grinning he does.

"Hitsuhiro-san...what were you doing?" Kazuha asked. Sho scratched his head, seemingly trying to remember something. After a full minute, his face brightened. Seems he finally remembered.

"I was looking for you. But I got carried away...teehee..."

...Oookay...this guy is ridiculous. Wait, he was looking for her?

"Why?" She voiced her thought.

"Why? Well, for one, Taicho told me to keep an eye on you. Oh, and uh...he told me to...well, mentor you?" He seems more like he's asking permission rather than stating facts.

"What?" She couldn't help that. It's shocking altogether, the fact that the child prodigy captain (albeit he's no longer a child) pay attention to her at all. Sure, she graduated in two years, but that doesn't mean her score is the best in this year's graduate (she's second best with only one score short on tying with the number one). She doesn't stand out much in class either. Even during their brief encounter a few years back, he doesn't seem like the type to remember a passing by student.

"Yup! I'm so suprised! He said I'm most suited with this job, since you don't seem to like being around Rangiku-san and my schedule is not too busy." Sho explained cheerfully. Is he taking this seriously at all?

"How...did Taicho know I don't like Matsumoto-fukutaicho?" She didn't hate Matsumoto, but the busty lieutenant lacked any delicacy when it comes to personal space (Rangiku hugged Kazuha out of the blue after the new recruits' test and congratulate her loudly. While the praises are not bad, Kazuha doesn't enjoy people touching her, much less suffocating her between their breasts).

"Maybe because he himself got annoyed with her? I mean, she skipped paperwork almost all the time and she tends to get too close for his comfort, you know?" Sho chuckled lightly. "Simply put, he's quite similar with you, and he knew that, it seems. So he somewhat understood your discomfort with Rangiku-san."

"Oh..." Kazuha exclaimed monotonously. Sho pouted.

"Mou, don't be so cold! Seriously even Tou - I mean, Taicho is not that blank!"

Kazuha tilted her head in slight puzzlement. Just now...did Sho almost called the captain's first name? The young 19th seat started to feel that the 4th seat just might have a closer relationship with their captain than what he let out.

"So...I'll be meeting you at the training grounds at...say, the day after tomorrow in the afternoon? Yeah. That should be fine." Sho nodded to himself. Kazuha reluctantly nodded. Not that she had anything to do the day after tomorrow anyway.

* * *

><p>Jun can feel irritation and anxiety radiating from Kyouko in waves. The redhead sat quietly, which is unusual, while brushing her ridiculously long hair. Kyouko only stayed quiet when she's having bad moods. And her mood today is anything but pleasant. The older woman sighed. Maybe she had to contact Hisagi to have a talk with Kyouko later. Even though Jun is Kyouko's best friend, the 4th seat would always keep things to herself occasionally. And Hisagi Shuuhei is the only person capable to make her spit it out.<p>

Jun briefly glanced to the mirror, just making sure her hair is as tidy as possible. Huh...it gets longer. Maybe she'll cut it in a few days.

"Kyouko, I'm going ahead." She announced to her roommate. The 4th's red demon nodded curtly.

Greaaat. She's really depressed. Jun sighed in exasperation.

"Feel free to have a day off. I'll explain to Unohana-taicho." Jun added.

...Another silent treatment. Shit, if last night's dream effect her this much, it could only mean one thing. It was a dream of **that** **incident**. Jun never get to know the details, but she knows that it is **not** good.

Yep, she's definitely calling Hisagi.

* * *

><p>Kaeri slammed her hands down on her desk, her usually friendly blue eyes burning in anger.<p>

"WHAT?" Her tone dangerously low, she eyed her captain.

"Like I said, you are going on a scouting mission with Abarai-kun. There are some unidentified hollows attacking East Rukongai's borders, and reports claimed them to be strong. That's why we need you. And Abarai shows great potential, so you might as well teach him a few things while you're away?" Ukitake sweat-dropped at his lieutenant. Her temper tantrums are rare, but Kaeri is the most similar to Matsumoto Rangiku out of all the fukutaichos. Meaning, her tantrums are not easy to deal with (both mentally and phisically). Not to mention she is a veteran amongst veterans. Who knows how many furnitures they have to replace when she lost her cool? Ukitake just hope his peaceful office won't turn into a wreckage.

"Taicho, I hate men." Kaeri stated.

"You don't hate me." Ukitake pointed out.

"Anyone other than you." She rolled her eyes. "So why do you assign me with a man?!"

"Kaeri-kun, you can't avoid men all of your life. Eventually there will come a time where you have to associate with men. I just have to make it easier when that time comes, so that at least you can tolerate a man's presence near you." Ukitake patted the upset fukutaicho's head affectionately.

"But..." Kaeri pouted.

"No buts. Your partner is Abarai, and that's that."

"Taicho~!"

"No."

* * *

><p>Asami watched the koi fish in her pond swim around silently. She watched her particular favorite, a small silver Koi with a patch of gold and black on its forehead, swam in between larger kois. She wished she could be that free, ignoring the restrictions of those older than her. She sighed deeply.<p>

"Nee-sama?" Yuushiro passed by, innocently cuddling a few cans of cat food. Undoubtedly he's going to sneak it into his room.

"Hm? Is there a matter, Yuushiro?"

"No...Onee-sama just didn't look so good." Yuushiro sat beside his older sister. His gender and small stature does nothing to reduce his similarity with Yoruichi. "Is it really that stressful? Being the Tenshiheisoban."

"It is hard, but that is not what I am thinking about." Asami flashed a gentle smile. "Do you want me to brush your hair?"

Yuushiro inwardly frowned at the change of topic. He doesn't enjoy having things hidden from him, even when he hid more things (material things, not secrets) than anybody does. But Asami is hard to figure out. In all these years of knowing his sister, Yuushiro only managed to make her spill one secret out, and that's not even a serious one (the secret had been the fact that Asami kept Yoruichi's old shihakusho and she often wore them as disguise whenever she sneaked to Seireitei). So it's quite useless to try and make his sister confess. "I suppose that would be nice." Yuushiro grinned. "I'll go get the brush."

When Yuushiro returned, the brush was not the only thing he brought. There's a folded letter imbued with the Kuchiki clan's crest in his other hand.

"I just remembered, Onee-sama. This letter came this morning. It's from Byakuya-sama." Yuushiro handed her the letter while untying his hair and proceed to lay his head on her sister's lap.

"From Byakuya...?" Asami fingered the letter gingerly. Byakuya haven't contacted her in ages. The last time they met was at Hisana's funeral, and even then they hadn't spoke to each other. What's with the sudden letter? Knowing Byakuya and his pride, it should be business.

Asami opened the letter. Yuushiro observed his sister curiously. He watched how Asami's face morphed from neutral into shocked, and then shifting into something between bewildered and flustered.

"Onee...sama?" Yuushiro called his shell-shocked sister with puzzlement. Asami's face is not quite at it's usual state. It is slowly heating up until it's pinker than Byakuya's Senbonzakura. What the heck is in that letter?

"What's with that Byakuya?! He's saying weird things now!" Even though she's complaining with a flustered face, somehow Asami could still make it ladylike. Yuushiro gave his sister a questioning look, but that went ignored. Asami stood abruptly (causing the younger Shihouin to fall from her lap and hit the floor painfully) and fumed into her room.

"N-Nee-sama?( O.O?)" Yuushiro rubbed his sore head. Suddenly the young Shihouin heiress spotted a piece of paper on the floor. Could it be...? It is! Asami dropped the letter! Okay, let's see what's in it...

O.O

...

...

..

.

"...No wonder nee-sama ran off," Yuushiro giggled.

Yuushiro stared at the letter with amusement. He wondered if Byakuya is serious or is he just up to his rare humor-craving moments. But certainly the letter would bring trouble if anyone else saw it. The elders would no doubt, considering the lack of humor they posses, took it seriously. He better return it to Asami.

The young Shihouin crept to his sister's room, knocked at the shoji screen softly and asked for permission. Silence was the only answer. She slided the door open, revealing an empty room. The tatami at the corner is slightly misplaced, indicating that Asami had opened her secret compartement to grab Yoruichi's old shihakusho. That means, she went to see Byakuya herself. Yuushiro giggled again and placed the letter on Asami's table. He could just burn it, it would be easier that way. But who knows if Asami wanted to keep it (^_^ ufufufu~). Yuushiro would rather not risk his sister's anger.

Before Yuushiro closed the door, a gust of wind managed to pass through. It blew the letter and unfolded it.

_Over a century has passed. The mistakes we did, the regret that came from it, are all in the past. Asami, forgive me. Whether you forgave me or not, at the very least this Kuchiki Byakuya yearned to see you once more. Come, meet me. And let the cherry blossom of fate decide what comes of our relationship._

_If you do forgive me, I wished to remind you of our childhood promise. And the day I saw you by my side in a wedding dress just might be fulfilled._

Oh, how Yuushiro wished he could stop himself from laughing when Asami came back later.

-0-

"Kuchiki Byakuya-sama, a guest has come to see you." A servant announced. The 28th head of the Kuchiki clan nodded curtly. He stood up and dusted his kimono. He knew who came. Unlike his former mentor, Yoruichi, Asami is quite easy to provoke. And what he saw when he came face to face with the Shihouin's head is more or less what he expected.

Well, he hadn't exactly expected her to be that beautiful. She is wearing a hood and shihakusho, undoubtedly borrowed from Yoruichi's old clothes. Half of her silvery hair is put into a graceful bun, while the rest fluttered down to her back, the pink tint at the tips reminded him of his own Senbonzakura. Her pinkish purple eyes almost glowed under the fading sunlight. The Kuchiki head collected his thoughts and asked the fellow clan leader to follow him. He led her into his favorite garden, where an ancient sakura tree stood sturdily. Beside it, stood a younger sakura tree, tiny in comparison to the giant next to it, yet graceful all the same.

"...Cherry blossom of fate my ass, Byakuya. Is this what you mean?" Asami grumbled with a hint of a blush. Her vulgar words, also magically sounded formal. This never fails to impress Byakuya."You took it too far when you joke. So you consider the tree where I fell from a century ago as 'cherry blossom of fate'?" Asami glanced at the gigantic sakura.

"How do you know I joked at all?" Byakuya's grey eyes held a hint of amusement.

"I know you, no matter how many years passed, no matter how much of a statue your face has become. Just like your lame joke about cutting your hair with Senbonzakura." Asami still refused to look at him straight in the eye. Byakuya resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"I may have joked about that last part. But I hadn't lie when I said I wanted to meet you."

"You rarely joked, so I almost took it seriously. Honestly, your letter is always overly poetic."

"I did try to tone it down, otherwise it would sound like a love letter."

"It already sounded like a darn love letter! How about something casual? Like, 'Hello, Asami. Long time no see. I was wondering if I can meet you and settle our old argument?' It would be way easier for me to react calmly."

"It wouldn't be interesting otherwise."

Asami swore she saw the corners of Byakuya's lips twitched. She blinked. He actually done it in purpose? That jerk. It seems that Byakuya's old self hadn't completely disappeared. He really liked to tease her when he was young (payback for all the teasings Yoruichi did to him, probably), and sometimes...he got overboard. Not in a bad way, but in an embarrassing way. Like that time when he purposely stood a little too close to her, stating that he's testing his limit of physical proximity with women (although she's not even a woman yet at the time). But Asami had noticed how he smiled lightly in amusement at her red face. He was teasing. Thankfully Yoruichi had payed him back...by pressing his face to her well-developed bosom. He didn't blush, but he was irritated enough.

"Also, you might have time to consider saying no if I had said it the normal way. And I do not intend to have a no as an answer." Byakuya added. Asami snapped from her daze and looked at him.

"...You're really stiff when it comes to relationships, do you? Do you think people would just do what you want? How selfish." Asami commented.

"Hm, perhaps." Byakuya gave her a hollow smile. It almost seemed sad. "Forgive me, Asami."

"Baka..." Asami scowled and faced the opposite direction.

Byakuya watch her leave quietly. He had expected her to do this. She still hate him after all. He sighed inwardly.

"I should be the one apologizing, Byakuya-senpai."

He froze. From the corner of his grey eyes, he watched her shunpo away. But he swore he saw tears. It's been a while since the last time she called him that. He had enjoyed it when she called him that. It makes him feel superior back in the old days. But now, she said it because she doesn't want to admit how late it took for her, for them, to make up. In a way, she is just as prideful as he is.

He sighed faintly. He just couldn't get rid of the guilt.

* * *

><p>It hurts. She's not sure why, but her whole body hurts. Her eyes felt heavy, and no matter how hard she tried, she can't open them. She heard voices, talking in whispers, or is it just because there's something wrong with her ears? She can't catch enything from the voices. Are they talking coherently at all?<p>

"She stirred."

"I can see that clearly, dumbass."

"I'm just stating it."

"Shuddap, Jun!"

"Oh? You're somewhat better now. Did you talk with Hisagi?"

"No! What makes you think so?!"

Hm? The voices are starting to sound louder. The pain is going more lucid every second. Ugh, it's so...so...painful.

"Hey, I think she's in pain. Should we give her more tranquilizers?"

"No. If we do that, she'll never wake up."

"Just a little, dummy! Just to make the pain fo away."

"It's **go **away. Not **fo** away. And that would only make her want to sleep some more. Pain helps you get a grip in reality sometimes, Kyouko."

She doesn't know about that. The pain is real enough. It's getting too much to bear. So unbearable, yet she didn't even have enough strength to scream. She forced her eyes to open, blinking rapidly when the sun stung her eyes. It feels like the world is too bright. How long had she stayed in the dark? Somehow it felt like she haven't came in contact with sunlight for a long time, although as far as her memories go, she just played in the sun all day yesterday.

"See? She's just fine." Her eyes slowly adjusted and landed on a tall woman with dark spiky hair. Then her eyes shifted to the woman's red-haired friend.

"W-water..." She blurted. The red haired woman blinked and grabbed a glass of water, while the black haired woman helped her sit.

When the water came in contact with her mouth, it felt like she's about to choke. As if her throat forgotten how to swallow. But the water does taste fresh, and her pain ceased. But it lasted only for a second, litterally, before the pain came rushing back.

She groaned.

"Huh, she's in pain after all. I'll get her some tranquilizer." Kyouko huffed and sprinted outside. Most likely getting the injection needle. Jun ruffled her already messy hair. She approached the patient.

"Sleep. Kyouko'll be back with the tranquilizer in a blink. You still need rest." Jun pushed the patient not-so-gently back to sleeping position.

"Ouch." She responded weakly. Jun was right. She needed rest. It feels so...sleepy...

To Be Continued

* * *

><p><strong>Yay! 3rd chapter! <strong>

**If anybody noticed, I changed Kaeru's name into 'Kaeri' because I felt bad that her name meaning, aside from 'going home' (which I intended) could also mean 'frog' (which I don't intend).**

**I'm still not sure with Shihouin Yuushiro's gender, but he seems like a boy and he has a boy's name (even though Yoruichi's name isn't exactly a girl's name either). I'll edit it if he turns out to be a she. **

**Does Byakuya seems OOC? I wanted to stick into his character, so please give comment about it so I can fix it in the upcoming chapters.**

**Does some of you already guess the pairings so far? I challenge you to guess. If you can figure it out, well, I suppose I have to make it more unpredictable.**


	4. Senpai and Kouhai

"Ugh!"

"No! That's no good! When you slash at your opponent, you can't lose your balance when the enemy can dodge it!"

"I'm sorry."

"You don't sound sorry at all...(-_-')"

"I'm sorry."

"...Whatever. Let's start over!"

"Yes."

Sho stared at his junior curiously. She is really close to emotionless. A bit innocent and clueless also. She's kinda adorable that way. She takes the training so seriously Sho wondered if she had ever thought of a break at all. They've been going on for hours now. It's a surprise Kazuha haven't got tired of their training already.

"Sho-yonseki?"

"Hm?" Sho is slightly surprised when she called him. He parried her slash and push her back, but she recovered in time to dodge his attack.

"How long have you become a shinigami?"

"Hmm...how long, I wonder? Not that long. A little before Hitsugaya Taicho joined the 10th division. That is...about 30 years ago?"

He kicked her abdomen and send her crashing to a tree. He's careful not to hurt her too much. He waited patiently for her to stand up, but she seems to have trouble sitting. A moment later, a growl resonated in the empty training ground. Sho blinked a few times, but then he slapped his hand to his mouth to stop himself from laughing.

"Ahahaha, Kazuha-chan, if you're hungry you should have said so! We can take a little break."

She has a faint blush on her cheeks. Even with the mask covering half of her face, against her pale skin, it is as clear as day. She stood up slowly while dusting her shihakusho and averting her gaze.

'So she's embarrassed.' Sho mused in amusement.

An hour later, they're loitering in the shopping district, looking for a good place to eat. Kazuha had insisted on bathing and changing clothes first, thus causing their slight delay on dinner.

"Uooh! So many choices! What do you want to eat, Kazuha-chan?"

"Anything is fine."

"Eh? That's a hard. Then, I guess this place is fine." Sho pointed at a medium-sized restaurant. It's nothing fancy, but it seems like a comfortable place to eat and the scent of food is delicious. Kazuha simply followed the hyped older shinigami silently.

"Can I have your order?" The waiter asked.

"I'll have the special okonomiyaki. Kazuha-chan, what do you want?" Sho raised his head from the menu to look at his junior. Kazuha seems to be silently counting the money in her pocket while looking at the prize tag.

"It's okay. My treat." Sho added. She seems surprised that he said that. Her deep blue eyes widened ever so slightly.

"Then...I'll have chicken katsu ramen with soyu sauce." She said hesitantly. Sho watched the price. It's really not that expensive. If she hesitated so much, is her money really that little?

"What about the drinks?" The waiter asked again.

"I'll have ice jasmine tea." Sho said while scanning the page. It's a shame there's no watermelon juice. He really liked to drink one.

"Ocha." Kazuha said.

"Kazuha-chan liked hot food, ne? The weather is rather hot tonight, but you ordered hot food and drinks."

"Well, my body temperature is always oddly cold, so...for some reasons I don't hate hot food."

"You...don't hate?" Sho sweat dropped at her choice of words. Why don't she just say she liked them? But her statement about her body temperature is true. During practice, he touched her skin accidentally a few times, and they're always cold. Not the sort of slight coolness like Toushiro's hand, but cold. Kind of reminded him of the hands of someone who's frightened to death. More creepily, her whole body seems to be in that temperature.

"By the way, why did you ask about how long I've been a shinigami?" Sho asked.

"I'm just calculating how long I would take to be that strong." She stated.

"Hmm...I suppose you can do that, but it all relies on talent and the amount of training. Considering you graduated in only two years, I'll say in a year or so you're already promoted to a higher rank. Perhaps even filling the empty third seat. That is, if you train hard." Sho grinned. She looked at her folded hands in a thoughtful look.

"With the third seat empty, doesn't that make you the third strongest? Why don't you take the position?" She asked after a while. Sho scratched his head.

"I just don't feel like it, you know. I always thought that, the higher your seat is, it didn't only show how strong you are, but also how close you are to the captain. With Rangiku-san as fukutaicho, it means that the one who took the third seat has to be Hitsugaya-taicho's second closest person. I don't think I'm suited for that. He needs someone else besides Rangiku-san to brightened up his days." Sho smiled.

"But you seems pretty close. You almost called him with his first name once." Kazuha pointed out. Sho blinked. She's really perceptive. But he's hoping to keep his secret for a little longer. Well, he had a feeling that even if his secret is to be revealed, nobody would be truly surprised. It's been obvious, after all.

"Yeah, well...that's true...You see, Hitsugaya taicho doesn't like to say my last name, since it sounds like his name being mashed into one, y'know? So he called me by my first name. But to have only one of us getting to call the other with their first name, it's weird. So occasionally, when there's just the two of us, he let me call his first name." Sho explained, speaking in a lower tone at the last two sentence. It's not a lie, but the reason is going beyond that. He leaned a little closer to her, putting his hand near his mouth and whispered, "Keep that between the two of us, kay? It's a secret between you, Toushiro, and me."

She nodded silently. Their orders came, and he cheerfully uttered an 'itadakimasu!' before starting to cut his okonomiyaki into a few pieces. Then he paused and looked at Kazuha.

"Ne, Kazuha-chan, I had been thinking, you have to remove your mask to eat, right?"

Sho had never thought it was possible for Kazuha's skin to get paler, yet she is getting whiter than paper right now. She didn't think about removing her mask, did she? Sho chuckled at her nervous face. Her eyebrows are arched downwards, and her already narrow eyes narrowed further with her pupils facing her lap.

With a slightly trembling hand, she pulled her mask down.

* * *

><p>Madarame Ikkaku is bored. He lay on the back porch of his room, facing the garden. He enjoyed the view quite much, even though the garden is not as neat as the ones at the other divisions. Considering that Yumichika was the only one who would do the gardening, maintaining a perfect garden is impossible. Not to mention sometimes the squad members would destroy part of it during the daily fights in the 11th division.<p>

"What are you thinking about, Ikkaku?" Yumichika raised a delicate eyebrow.

"Just wondering how the heck you can do so much chores and still have free time." Ikkaku blurted randomly.

It's true, though. Gardening, paperwork, cleaning, fighting, tidying datas, and beauty care is a lot of work for just one person. And Yumichika's workload is tenfold the usual, since the 11th division is the most slack of all. Yet somehow he can finish the mountains of paperwork in just a few hours, clean their room in less than ten minutes (it's something to be proud of, considering their room is never tidy thanks to Ikkaku), managing data in the captain's office (Yachiru is the only cause it gets messy, since Kenpachi never even spared the files a glance) in about fifteen minutes, spend the rest of his day making sure he's still beautiful, spar with Ikkaku for Kami knows how long and still have a decent free time. Incredible.

"Time management, Ikkaku, time management." Yumichika smirked.

"Speaking of time management, how does Yamamoto sneak out of the 1st division?" Ikkaku eyed a silhouette in the distance. The figure is lean, and is jumping from roof to roof. Yumichika followed his line of vision. He caught the shadow against the moon, and he smirked.

"Oh, it seems that she skipped training...again. Can't blame her. If Soutaicho trains her, it must be hard. But what does it had to do with time management, Ikkaku?"

"Whatever." Ikkaku scoffed. He eyed the figure again. "Bad news, Yumichika. She's coming here."

"Let's hope Soutaicho doesn't burn us down later for hiding his granddaughter, eh?"

"Agreed." Muttered the bald, er, shaven man.

A few moments later the figure landed on the garden softly. Yamamoto Ayaka is by no means similar to her grandfather. She is a rather short woman, only reaching Yumichika's shoulder in height (and Yumichika is not particularly tall).She has waist-length indigo hair, slightly tanned skin, and tea colored eyes. Sometimes she reminded them of Kyouko, since both woman have fierce personality and both tied their hair into a high ponytail.

"Sup, Ikkaku, Yumichika." She greeted.

"Yo. So, this time we're the ones who would be doomed by your grandpa's flames." Ikkaku smirked at her. She sent him a death glare.

"You don't look beautiful today." Yumichika commented.

"As if you ever called anyone aside from yourself beautiful, idiotic peacock!" She retorted back. "Gah! You both annoyed me!"

"Oi, if you don't tone your reiatsu down, you're busted in no time." Ikkaku noted. Ayaka raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, you actually said something that made sense."

"Are you saying that I'm stupid?!" Ikkaku felt a vein popping on his head. Ayaka clamped her mouth shut and giggled. Yumichika smirked.

Ayaka's ability to piss Ikkaku off is quite remarkable. Actually, she can annoy anyone hot-blooded easily (that includes Yamamoto Genryuusai). Yumichika is not that hot-blooded, unfortunately. So Ikkaku is the target of her teases most the time. It doesn't mean she never had an argument with Yumichika, though. They fought verbally just as often.

"By the way, Yumichika, have you seen Sho lately? Usually at this hour he's hanging with me, planning some pranks."

"I haven't. I heard Hitsugaya-taicho assigned him to train a new recruit. He's probably with that newbie."

"Eh, new recruit, huh?" Ayaka rubbed her chin. "It must be nice to have a kouhai."

"Maybe. Personally I think it's bothersome. I don't wish to babysit anyone." Yumichika stated.

"Yeah. It's fine when your junior is a nice guy like Abarai, but what if it's a troublemaker?" Ikkaku nodded in agreement. "Even I got tired with Abarai sometimes."

"Good point. But I still wanna know what it feels like. All I know is what it feels to have a killer teacher." Ayaka scowled while subconsciously shivering. Her grandpa's teachings are in no way gentle. Ikkaku and Yumichika sent her a sympathetic look.

"It must be hard, to have your grandpa trying to kill you everyday." Ikkaku stated.

"Uh-huh." Ayaka nodded. "Hey, you don't mind if I borrow your room, right? I haven't got a decent sleep lately thanks to the bruises the geezer gave me last week."

Now that she mentioned it, she does seem a little sleepy. Ikkaku shrugged.

"Go ahead, just make sure nobody saw you there. It's a real problem if your grandpa thought I did something with you." Ikkaku waved nonchalantly. Ayaka glared at him for the sour words, but she did flash him a thankful smile. While she strode to Ikkaku's futon (Yumichika never lets anyone sleep on his, so Ikkaku's futon is the only choice), Yumichika noticed that Ikkaku looked a bit weird. Almost as if he's embarrassed. Either it's because a girl is so casually borrowing his sleeping mattress, or he's flustered because Ayaka smiled at him.

The later sounded more reasonable. Yumichika smirked knowingly and nudged his best friend. Ikkaku frowned deeply at him, and his look screamed, 'If you said anything I'll kill you!'. Oh, well. It's about time Ikkaku started to get interested in anything other than fights. Well, there's that, and one more thing, for Ikkaku to stop crushing on Yumichika's older sister.

Yumichika shook his head, shooing the memory of his sibling to the very back of his mind. He glanced at Ayaka, miraculously already sound asleep the moment her head touched the pillow. Then he averted his gaze to his friend's shining bald head. Ikkaku is silently watching the shorter woman's sleeping figure with a thoughtful look. A thin smile reached the narcissist's lips and he prompted to watch both idiot's relationship.

* * *

><p>Kazuha felt like her senses had been heightened ten times over and she became extremely self-conscious. It's not that she had anything to hide behind her mask. Her face is just as normal as any person, thank you very much. It's just that, her mask is sort of the wall that she put up around her. She never felt secure without it on. Having her mask down made her felt exposed, extremely easy to read. She hated that feeling.<p>

She cursed at herself for not realizing that she had to open her mask to eat. But, what's done is done, and she can't be stupid and refuse the food her senpai had kindly bought for her. Sho is not a bad person, anyway. And he had that certain air around him that made him even more similar to Hitsugaya Toushiro.

Sho had been watching her intently even since she pulled her mask down. He grinned a split second later, saying that she shouldn't wear a mask at all, for she's pretty. Kazuha is used to that. Even though she is small in stature, she knew she had quite a fair face, and there were times she encountered pedophiles back in Rukongai as well (she managed to get away before they did anything to her, luckily). But having someone giving her compliments are rare. In fact, before she joined the Gotei 13, she hadn't got a single compliment. Not even from the teachers from Shin'o academy.

"Kazuha-chan, you should put your hair down. That bun doesn't suit you." Sho pointed with his fork to her hair, putting a piece of okonomiyaki with his other hand into his mouth. Kazuha ignored him and ate her meal. It's really tasty. Living as a shinigami is in a completely different level than being a stray soul in Rukongai.

The rest of their meal went uneventful, and they left after paying. Sho insisted that they should get a little snack before going back. They entered a sweet stall and scanned the racks and display cases filled with warm, delicious-looking cakes, candies, or dumplings. Kazuha had never seen so many sweets gathered in one place. She decided to try the taiyaki, a fish-shaped fried dumpling filled with bean paste.

While Sho once again payed her share, she decided to explore the small stall for future reference. She watched the candy section, where a collection of both western and traditional colorful candies lined up in several jars along the shelf. She also saw a section meant for fermented sweets only. It is then that she accidentally bumped to someone.

She had to tilt her head and step backwards before she can look into the person properly. The first feature she noticed is that he wears a captain's haori. The second thing she noticed is that his short straight hair is white with a tint of soft purplish lilac. He had a very striking appearance, with tall and thin stature, angular face, eyes that are narrowed to slits, and an ear-to-ear smile that reminded her of both a sly fox and a deceitful snake. From the books she read about the captains of Gotei 13, there's only one captain with these characteristics. Ichimaru Gin, captain of the 3rd division.

Gin opened his eyes slightly while he observed her, and Kazuha is faced with a pair of icy blue eyes that is just as stunning as his other features. His smile widened, something Kazuha thought impossible.

"Arara? I never see ya' around before." Gin spoke with a thick Kyoto dialect, further emphasizing his striking looks. People won't be able to forget him easily once they meet him.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going. I'm Fuyuhime Kazuha, Juubantai (10th squad) juukyuuseki (19th seat), a new recruit." Kazuha bowed politely.

"No need ta' be so formal. I was at fault too. Kazuha, ain't it? Ichimaru Gin, Sanbantai Taicho." Gin offered her his hand. Kazuha usually felt disturbed when someone called her first name when they just met, but oddly, this felt natural. As if Gin is a familiar figure that she knew for a long time. She shook his hand, feeling his long bony fingers wrap around her much smaller hand with a hint of affection and care. And for some reasons, his suspicious and somewhat cynical appearance along with the dubious sincerity in his words were not as intimidating as other people would thought.

Once again, she met someone she could trust.

"Ichimaru-taicho, it's time to go back." Kazuha hadn't noticed the presence of the person standing behind Gin, and if she hadn't trained herself to hide her emotions, she would've jumped in surprise at the voice.

He is slightly shorter than Gin, with straight blonde hair that covered one of his green eyes. He is thin just like his captain, and he had an aura of gloom around him. Presumably, since he accompanied Gin, he is Gin's fukutaicho, Kira Izuru.

"Coming, Izuru." Gin chimed. Well, that confirmed her guess. "See ya' around, Kazuha~"

"Wow, I think Ichimaru-taicho has taken a liking to you." Sho commented. Kazuha startled. She didn't notice the older shinigami's presence. It seems that she is too absent minded. She should try heightening her senses.

"Is that a bad thing?" Kazuha asked. Sho blinked.

"It could be, it could be not." Sho said. "Being close with a captain has its ups and downs. Personally, I think Ichimaru-taicho is creepy, but he is a fine officer, and he had more tricks in his sleeves than what people would think."

"I see."

"You like him, do you?" Sho raised an eyebrow at her. Kazuha followed the tall captain's figure until he disappeared in the crowd.

"He seems...familiar." Kazuha admitted. Sho had an unreadable look on his face. For a split second, his eyebrows formed a frown that is very similar with the one Toushiro would have on his face.

"Oh, well. Let's head back, shall we?"

"Yes."

To Be Continued

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><p><strong>I'm trying to make a chapter that is centered on one OCCC only, but I failed. I'll try next time. **


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